INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: Dave Morse introduced his guest Tom Dawson. Tom is the Assistant Utilities Manager for the City of Niles. Dave mentioned how he and Tom had known each other for years and how Tom started as an electrical lineman and made his way up to a management position. Welcome to the Niles Noon Optimist Club Tom! Please visit us again.

BRAGS: Craig Krassow bragged on the Niles High School Spring Musical to be held this Saturday tat 2:30. The play this year is "Joseph and his Amazing Techno-color Dream Coat". Craig’s daughter has a pivotal role as the narrator of the story." Rudy Kappe bragged on his 5-year old grandson who was recently given a dollar but then protested he wanted one "with a 5 on it!" Smart Kid -- a future Wall Street Executive! John Willis bragged on securing a sponsor during today’s meeting for the Niles Optimist Soccer season. John had announced that more sponsors were needed and new Optimist Tom Rasler came forward to help. Thanks Tom! John also bragged on Jack Arbanna who found another soccer coach for the program. Thanks Jack! That gets us much closer to our goal of getting ready for the soccer season. John said that we now have enough sponsors for all the teams in Niles. He also said that we still need about four more sponsors for Buchanan, so contact him if you know of someone or some company that can sponsor a soccer team. He also thanked all the Optimists whose companies have or are continuing to sponsor Optimist soccer teams and those who have helped locate coaches and referees for the program. Mike Listenberger bragged on John Willis who is the new webmaster for Michigan District, in addition to maintaining our local website.

50/50 RAFFLE DRAWING: Secretary/Treasurer Erika Kirtdoll conducted the 50/50 raffle. Dennis Middleton took home the $13 pot! Dennis says it was the first time in almost 10 years since he’d won! Congratulations Dennis!

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH: Our students of the month are from Brandywine High School. The students gave us their biographies:

Breanna Peare is an 18-year old senior who is currently ranked number one in her class. Her parents’ names are Brian and Lori Peare. She has two sisters named Amber and Eisha Judy. Breanna is involved in choir, cheerleading, track, and academic challenge. She is captain of the varsity cheerleading squad and was the co-captain of the academic challenge tea. Last year she was president of the Spanish Honor Society. She is also involved in National Honor Society. She says that calculus is her favorite subject in school and that she would like to become a mathematics professor. Breanna plans on attending Holy Cross College. She said that her grandmother, Marge Peare, made a great impression on her at a young age. Her grandmother took the time to read to her in her formative years and this has helped her to get where she is today. Breanna says that although her grandmother passed away when she was in the second grade, she is sure that grandma would be proud of her.

Nicholas Barlow is a 17-year old senior. He enjoys astronomy, history, aviation and working on his father’s small farm. His parents are Donald and Sue Barlow. He has three brothers and two sisters. Nicholas is a member o the Spanish Honor Society and the National Honor Society. He works to maintain the high schools website through his website design class. He enjoys accounting, art, government and Spanish class. He is also currently enrolled in a college class at Andrews University where he is studying to be a private pilot. Nicholas is also a member of the Dutch Exchange Program and in March he will be going to the Netherlands to witness European culture. Outside of school he likes working in his older brother’s sign shop, watching movies, listening to music and talking to his Dutch friends over the internet. He also likes reading newspapers so that he can be very informed about the world around him. He plans to attend Southwestern Michigan College for two years and then transfer to a university. He would like to study tourism, marketing and aviation. Nicholas says he wants to travel the world as he gets older.

Mike Beauchamp is also an 18-year old senior. He has lived in Niles his whole life. He says his mom, Suzanne works for Berrien County ISD and his dad works at Honeywell. Mike ahs one brother Bob and a sister, Christine. In school he likes to play basketball, tennis, golf, and soccer. He also likes helping to decorate the halls for homecomings and enjoys selling programs for football games. He is on the Berrien County Gateway Youth Advisory Committee and in the last two years has spent a lot of time volunteering on community projects. Mike says the thing he likes most about school is the teachers who are always there to stay after school to help students who need the assistance. He said that there are some really great teachers at Brandywine High School. Mike said that when school is out he wants to spend some time with his friends before everyone goes on to college. This summer he also wants to watch his friends play sports, spend time with his girlfriend, go shopping and do some work on his computer. After graduating from high school he is planning on attending Ferris State University to study computer information systems. Mike says that after graduation he would like to find a good job in a large city and hopes that someday he will find someone to share his wife with and start a family.

Optimists offer their congratulations to Breanna, Mike and Nicholas on not only being named Students of the Month, but also on their upcoming graduation.

CLOSING CREED: Dennis Middleton led the group in reciting the Optimist Pledge at the close of the meeting.

What do you call a poodle with no legs?

A sponge.

These two Scottish characters are chatting. One of them then pulls out an expensive looking pocket watch from his pocket to check the time.

"That's a fine watch you got there!" says the other.

"Yeah it is, isn't it? I got it from my grandfather," says the guy with the watch.

"Really?"

"Yeah, he sold it to me on his death bed."

TODAY IN HISTORY: March 2^nd

1498: Vasco de Gama's Portuguese expedition reaches the island of Mozambique, the most southerly port of call for Arab merchants on the east coast of Africa.
1807: The United States Congress abolishes the slave trade, effective January 1, 1808.
1836: Texas declares its independence from Mexico; the United States does not recognize the new Republic of Texas.
1877: On the basis of its committee's recommendation, the United States Congress rewards all 20 disputed electoral votes in the previous December's presidential election to Republican Rutherford B. Hayes.

1923: Time magazine debuts as a weekly news review.
1974: Stevie Wonder wins five Grammy awards for his album Innervisions.

Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the USSR from 1985 to 1991 (1931)
Sam Houston, statesman and military commander (1793)
Kurt Weill, German American composer (1900)
Mel Ott, baseball player (1909)
Rosa DeLauro, member of the House of Representatives from Connecticut (1943)

Born on this day in 1904, I earned a living as a cartoonist until I wrote and illustrated the children's book I Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

Dr. Seuss is the pen name of children’s author Theodor Seuss Geisel. His eccentric characters and whimsical illustrations have made his books enduring favorites with both children and adults.